Tommy Dreamer says he tried for a long time to get former Primetime Player Darren Young hired by WWE only to be told he looked too much like megastar John Cena.
Young was part of the initial series of NXT before the cast of that first season debuted en masse as the Nexus in June 2010. Alongside Wade Barrett, Daniel Bryan, Skip Sheffield, Michael Tarver, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, and David Otunga, Young was part of the group that tried to take over WWE as they attacked WWE Superstars and ringside crew in a memorable segment on Raw.
Now according to ECW legend and former member of the WWE Talent Relations team, Tommy Dreamer has said he had tried to get Young hired for an age before he eventually made it to the company. Speaking on his House Of Hardcore podcast, Dreamer recalled how he had tried to bring the man who now competes as Fred Rosser to the company but kept getting given different reasons for why he wouldn’t be hired.
Dreamer explained:
“I tried to get [Rosser] hired forever. He was one of those guys that was always on the bubble. It was always, ‘Hey man, you have to get in better shape. Hey, you’re a little chubby, you’re a little this, you’re a little that.’ He wrestled a long time before he got signed, but he was always so good. One time, they told me looked too much like John Cena. I was like, ‘He’s black, how can he look like John Cena?’ In the face and body. I remember, Corey Graves looked too much like CM Punk and then they said, ‘Change your hair.’ He shaved his head and looked too much like Randy Orton. These are the things they would think about and you can’t win with these guys. Happy they all got signed.”
Fred Rosser who now competes for New Japan Pro Wrestling wrestled several matches for WWE throughout the 2000s before signing his developmental deal with WWE in 2009. As Darren Young as part of The Nexus, he headlined SummerSlam in 2010 as part of the Nexus vs. Team WWE fourteen-man tag team match.